Billy Welu was a famous professional bowler

Bowler (ten-pin)

A bowler is someone participating in the sport of bowling, either as an amateur or professional. In American ten-pin bowling, a bowler is most commonly a member of a team of three to six people...

, executive for the Professional Bowlers Association

Professional Bowlers Association

The Professional Bowlers Association is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the PBA membership consists of almost 4,300 members worldwide...

 (PBA), bowling broadcaster, and a great ambassador

Ambassador

An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....

 for the sport. A founding member of the PBA, he won four PBA titles, including two ABC Masters

USBC Masters

The USBC Masters is a championship ten pin bowling event conducted by the United States Bowling Congress. The Professional Bowlers Association began recognizing it as a title event in 1998, and it was designated one of the four majors in 2000....

 championships. He is the only the second bowler in history to successfully defend an ABC/USBC Masters title, winning the event in 1964 and 1965.

Known for his heavy southern accent and easygoing personality, Welu spent several years as an analyst alongside legendary broadcaster Chris Schenkel

Chris Schenkel

Christopher Eugene "Chris" Schenkel was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and baritone voice.-Early life and career:Schenkel began his broadcasting career at radio...

 on ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

's Saturday afternoon telecasts of the Pro Bowlers Tour

Pro Bowlers Tour

The Professional Bowlers Tour, also known as Pro Bowlers Tour, is a broadcast of the Professional Bowlers Association that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1997...

. He was posthumously inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1975.

Welu's death of a heart attack at age 41 in 1974, which took a major toll on his close friend Schenkel, prompted ABC to find a new color commentator to join Schenkel in the booth. This was during a time when bowling was wildly popular and garnered very high ratings on television. Dick Weber

Dick Weber

Dick Weber was a famous bowling professional and a founding member of the Professional Bowlers Association...

 and Dave Davis

Dave Davis (bowler)

Dave Davis was a successful professional ten-pin bowler and former member of the Professional Bowlers Association . He grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and now resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida....

 alternated telecasts for a brief period until Nelson Burton Jr.

Nelson Burton Jr.

Nelson "Bo" Burton, Jr. is a professional ten-pin bowler and former longtime analyst for the Professional Bowlers Tour on ABC Television. He is the son of Nelson Burton, Sr., who himself was a successful bowler in his day, competing with the likes of Glenn Allison and Billy Welu...

 was selected as a permanent analyst. Nelson and Chris spent nearly 23 years together calling the action for ABC Sports.